ROCKFORD — Days before 7-week-old Jaxon Betts died of starvation in September 2011, Kayla A. Lund gave her son his last bath and saw skin hanging in flaps from his face and legs.

Lund, 25, of South Beloit, testified on Thursday at a bench trial before Chief Judge Joseph McGraw. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder.

Jaxon was born Aug. 5, 2011. At 7 pounds, 4 ounces, he had a full face and a normal baby’s chubby body, Lund said.

But when Lund bathed the infant before his Sept. 22, 2011, death 49 days later, Lund testified that, yes, she could see Jaxon’s ribs. Yes, she could see Jaxon’s spine sticking out beneath loose skin.

No, she didn’t call a doctor or seek medical attention.

“You could see, two days before Jaxon’s death, his spine protruding from his back and you still didn’t call the doctor,” asked Assistant State’s Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross as she hammered Lund with questions.

“No,” Lund answered softly.

Lund endured roughly three hours of tough questions from prosecutors and her own public defenders, Edward Light and Nick Zimmerman.

Lund said in court that Jaxon was adorable and that she loved him.

She said that she didn’t think anything was wrong with Jaxon to merit a trip to the doctor or hospital. She reduced the amount of formula being given to him and increased the frequency of feedings to try to address his problems with spitting up and vomiting.

Lund said her other children experienced similar problems and merely grown out of them.

“Did you ever want to kill or harm Jaxon in any way?” Zimmerman asked.

“No,” Lund answered.

“Did you love Jaxon?”

“Yes,” she said.

Another son, Lukas, had died as an infant June 9, 2009, after a prescription for asthma was not filled. Lund said the boy was visiting his father’s home at the time. Lund’s lawyers argued the Department of Children and Family Services improperly indicated “medical neglect” in Lukas’ death.

In contrast to a doctor’s testimony earlier in the week that Lukas died a day after missing an appointment, Lund said Thursday that Lukas died the morning of the appointment.

Lund said she had trepidation nearly two years later when she first learned she was pregnant with Jaxon out of concern she would be overwhelmed. But she became excited when she felt him move in her belly, Lund testified.

But she missed the only doctor appointment she made for Jaxon and never rescheduled despite the problems with vomiting or spitting up and weight loss.

Page 2 of 2 - Zimmerman asked Lund why she didn’t take Jaxon to the doctor.

“I wasn’t overly concerned,” Lund said, explaining that Jaxon seemed similar to an older brother who had trouble gaining weight and then turned out to be fine. Her other children also had trouble keeping down baby formula.

But Hite Ross pointed out while Jaxon never saw a doctor, Lund kept two dental appointments and a medical appointment. Hite Ross said Lund took a different child to the pediatrician soon after Jaxon’s birth.

Hite Ross also asked about other times in the past that Lund had taken her children to the doctor for various appointments and illnesses in an attempt to prove that Lund knew when to take a child to the doctor.

“There was skin hanging off his bones,” Hite Ross said. “With your other three children, they never had skin hanging off their bones, did they?”

“No,” Lund said.

In another exchange, Hite Ross asked about Jaxon’s stomach.

“You noticed his stomach was inverted — concave?” Hite Ross asked.

“Yes,” Lund answered softly.

“When you noticed that his stomach was concave, did you make a medical appointment for your son, Jaxon?”